


Maybe

by Itrustyoutokillme



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: CS AU, F/M, Fluff, cs halloweek entry, seasonal fall cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-25 01:22:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12519764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itrustyoutokillme/pseuds/Itrustyoutokillme
Summary: Emma very often goes to sit in the local park on her days off, but apparently so does Killian Jones.





	Maybe

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day 2 of the Tumblr Cs Halloweek cs au week! Happy Halloween!  
> Thank you to my lovely beta, @hollyethecurious / @Hollyeleigh!

Emma shivered.  The sun peeked through the thinning clouds, burning its way through but still unable to put a dent in her chill.  It warmed her cheeks, but the flush across her skin was from the whip of the wind and not the sun’s rays.  She grabbed her coat, pulling the edges together and fumbling with her oversized buttons, her gloved fingers struggling to push the plastic disc through its hole. **  
**

It was her day off.  Her day was a blank slate, and Emma just wanted to sit back and watch the world go by.  She did this often, parking herself on the rickety old park bench with a cup of hot chocolate dusted with cinnamon, and simply stared into the park.  It was always full of people but somehow she managed to close them out and simply be by herself in the bustle of the public eye.

Fall was her favourite time of year because of the colours.  The trees had been turning from green to a flaming burnt orange over the past two weeks, shedding the occasional leaf that would twirl to the ground, landing silently and unnoticed by everyone nearby.  Except for Emma.  Watching the fall of a leaf stopped her world, its waltz towards the wet, blackened pavement happening in slow motion and making her smile.

It was the time of the year when people dug out their musty old coats, scarves became full price once more, and nobody ever managed to hold onto a full set of gloves for longer than a week.  Emma swore she had an entire drawer full of single, lonely gloves, unmatched and abandoned by their partners.  

Emma sighed.  She pulled her beanie down over her ears and brushed at a few strands of her blonde locks from her forehead.  It took a couple of swipes because of her gloves, and frustrated, Emma pulled one of her hands free to move the offending hair.  As if karma was laughing at her, the glove fell to the floor at her feet and landed in the puddle that had formed there.

Emma grunted and doubled over, hugging her knees as she reached out for the escaped hand covering.

“You’ll lose that if you are not careful.”

Emma’s head snapped upwards, her body righting instantly and a huge lump forming in her throat.  The voice belonged to a man - a _hot_ man - who was standing a few feet in front of her.  Emma couldn’t help it when her eyes flickered over him, wide and drinking him in hungrily.  He was wearing blue jeans and black boots, the front of his blue checkered shirt tucked behind the buckle of his brown leather belt.  The man had an oversized green knit sweater under a grey jacket, a black scarf wrapped around his neck.

Emma gulped, her mouth hanging open a little but her words stolen from her.  Usually, she would have a witty comeback for anything a stranger had to say to her, but the blue of his eyes was so deep she felt like she was drowning on dry land.  His smile was awkwardly cute, boyish and his pink lips twitched at the corners, his impossibly long eyelashes brushing his cheeks as he blinked.  A fine layer of ginger scruff littered his jawline and after he’d giving it a light scratch, he dug his hand into his pocket.

“Are you alright?” he asked shyly.  His other hand clutched a disposable coffee cup, the side of which was stained with dried coffee and the lid steaming through the drinking hole.

Emma blinked, her eyes dry from staring.  She leaned back until her back hit the curved bench and she reluctantly tore her eyes away from the stranger in front of her.  She licked her lips nervously, her mouth closing and her lips turning up into a smile as she looked at her one gloved hand in her lap.

“Yes,” She said quickly and his grin grew even wider at her nervousness.

“Are you quite sure?” the stranger prodded a little more, bending to retrieve her glove and then offering it to her with an extended arm.

Emma laughed nervously and nodded, taking the soaking wet glove from his grasp.  Her fingertips brushed over his briefly and it felt like a shock through her arm, electricity sparking her every cell.  Emma snatched her hand back and her cheeks instantly flushed hot, the chilly October air suddenly not so much of a problem.

“Killian,” He smiled again, his lips curling up to expose his teeth.

“I’m sorry?” Emma’s brow furrowed in confusion and she tilted her head to the side.

“My name,” he arched his brow at her and lifted his coffee cup to his lips, taking a silent gulp.  Emma watched the bob of his Adam’s apple and bit the inside of her mouth.  “My name is Killian.”

“Oh,” Emma smile grew wider and she looked away again.  She couldn’t stop smiling and she felt her ears wiggle under her beanie.

Killian pulled his hand from his pocket and scratched the skin behind his ear gently.  This wasn’t going the way he had imagined when he had noticed her sitting on his bench.  He came here once a week, usually on his day off, to just sit and watch the world pass him by.  Killian did it all year, all weathers, all seasons, but Fall was his favourite.  The air was crisp, the leaves rustling overhead as the wind whipped through the trees but there was the perfect amount of sunlight to warm the damp that inevitably worked its way into his bones.

Not that he minded at all.  He worked by the docks, the damp hanging heavy in the air all the time.  It very often worked its way into his joints no matter how many layers he tried to keep it at bay with.  Killian restored boats, a craft he had come to love since restoring his own vessel many years ago.  He was lucky enough to call it his profession now but on his down time, he enjoyed something a little more inland.

That was until he had arrived at the park the same time he did every week only to discover his seat taken by a phenomenal blonde haired beauty with the most striking green eyes and rosy tipped cherub cheeks.  He rocked back on his heels and took another sip of his coffee, licking his lips as he swallowed.

“You know,” he began, his words drawing her attention back to him immediately.  “It is often customary when someone gives their name to offer one in return.”

Emma laughed and slapped her hands on her thighs, pushing herself to her feet quickly and rolling her eyes.  He watched her rise into the space before him, her long, red scarf falling down over her knees.  

“Of course,” she held out her bare hand and he eyed it with a glint in his eye.  “Emma.”

“Emma,” he repeated her name back to her but the way it sounded in his accent made her shiver.  He took her hand, gripping her palm that fit perfectly in his.  “Nice to meet you, Emma.”

Their hands lingered together, bouncing up and down as they greeted each other.  For a second, Killian felt his skin being to burn in hers and the previously scalding coffee cup turned cold in his other hand in comparison.  He slipped his hand from hers, dragging his fingers across hers slowly.

“You too, Killian,” Emma mirrored his smile.

There was a moment when it was just them.  The world became brighter, the edges blurring into a faint orange glow around them, the air around them smelling of Fall, and the clouds above them reflected in the puddles the only movement they could see.  Killian scratched behind his ear again, a sweet smirk playing across his lips as they managed to stare into each other’s eyes and say nothing and everything all at once.

Reality jolted them back together when a cyclist whizzed behind them, his elbow bumping into Killian’s back and making his entire body lunge towards Emma’s.  There was a split second between Killian stepping forward awkwardly, Emma wrapped her arms around him to steady his stumble and his coffee lid popping off and the lukewarm liquid spilling down Emma’s black coat.

“Oh bloody hell,” Killian mumbled into her neck, his stubble tangling with the golden tresses that rested over her shoulders as he pulled himself out of her embrace.  “I am so sorry,” he apologised, hands hovering above the coffee on her jacket, right above her breast.

“It’s okay,” Emma held her hands up and let out the gasped she had been holding.  

“I’ll pay for your dry cleaning,” Killian offered quickly, his fingers flexing over her coat, unsure whether he should brush off the droplets of coffee before they stained and risk publicly molesting someone he had just met.

“It’s okay,” Emma laughed a little, repeating her earlier words.  Finally, Emma broke the tension between them, skimming her hands over the spill and wishing Killian had got their first.

He clenched his jaw, shooting a glance along the line of trees to where the cyclist was growing smaller and smaller in the distance.  He shook his head and his hand flew to the back of his neck, scratching the hair there, his face flushing red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.  Without a second thought, Killian hooked his hand around her elbow and began to guide her along the row of trees.

“Let me buy you a new coat,” Killian offered, tossing his half-empty coffee mug into the trash can beside them.  “It’s the least I can do.”

Emma shook her head vehemently.  “Absolutely not,” she said as she followed him obediently, not even sure as to where they were going.  Emma had let her guard down inexplicably, falling in line beside him as they strolled along the row of gently swaying auburn trees.

“Well let me do something, love,” Killian pleaded with a chuckle.  “I feel bad.”

They stopped and turned to face each other, the glow in Emma’s eyes causing Killian to narrow his eyes at her.  Even though he had just met her, he felt like he had known her forever.  Maybe in another life they had crossed paths.  Maybe in another life he had managed to avoid spilling his coffee down her.

“What?” He grinned at her.  Emma pressed her hands to his chest and slid her fingertips across the knitted fabric of his sweater, instantly warming her uncovered hand against the plush material.  Killian watched her hands, skimming over his heart that took off in his chest at her touch.

“You can stop sitting on my bench,” Emma smirked, giving him a wink and looking back to where they had just been standing.

Killian frowned again, one eyebrow jumping up on his face.  A smile crept across his lips and he pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth.  “Your bench?” he teased.

Emma nodded.  “I see you sitting on it all the time, you know when I come here to forget the world.”

“So you’re stalking me now?” Killian grinned ear to ear,  the shine in his blue eyes catching the sunlight.  Emma bowed her head and hid her face, her forehead almost touching the back of her hands that were still pressed to his chest.  “I knew it.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it,” Emma joked, flexing her fingers against the hard planes of his chest.  A few tiny black hairs poked out from his neckline and Emma felt a tingle in her stomach at seeing what was underneath.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be so devilishly handsome,” Killian purred and Emma felt the skin over her entire body pull tight and prickle with heat.  “Why don’t you ever sit with me?” Killian asked her softly, brushing the outside of her elbows with his thumbs.

Emma shrugged, tossing her head back so she was looking back up into his ocean deep eyes.  She noticed a tiny scar on the side of his face and wondered how he had come to mar his beautifully handsome face.  Maybe one day she would ask him.

“Maybe one day I will,” Emma smiled sweetly.  “Maybe one day we can sit and forget the world together.”

Killian smiled softly and gave her elbows a gentle squeeze.  “Maybe I’d like that.”


End file.
